


An Angel's Care

by QueenCelina33



Series: Drowned in Ink AU [8]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, And she cares about Norman a lot, Best Friends, Friendship, Gen, Injury, Susie is a big sweetie, also she calls him Norm, batim au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 18:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCelina33/pseuds/QueenCelina33
Summary: The projectors in the studio sometimes overheat, and Norman gets burned if they catch fire. However, this time, Susie is here to save the day.





	An Angel's Care

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I have a new drabble for you all. I realized I haven't written a lot about the other employees of Henry and Joey Studios and wanted to write something with Susie and Norman since they're best friends.   
> This one is about Susie helping Norman after a projector catches fire and Norman tries to put it out.  
> Enjoy!

Susie made her way into the band room, making sure not to disrupt them as she entered. She had just finished recording for the next cartoon, and they were actually ahead of schedule. The voice actress had finished her recordings with Mrs. Pendle-Connor and she had told her that she was going to see how the band was doing.

Susie could see Sammy with his conductor’s baton in hand, directing the band with a soft smile on his lips. She chuckled. Sammy always did his job with such passion and loved what he did. Susie turned her gaze to the projection booth to see Norman at his station, smiling widely. Norman, like Sammy, did his job with passion.

The band came to the end of their music and Sammy lowered his baton. Susie began to clap and attention was turned to her. She smiled and walked to Sammy, addressing him and the band. “You guys did great! That sounded fantastic!”

Sammy and some of the band members chuckled and thanked her, knowing that she always loved the music they made. Susie looked up to where the cartoon was being projected and noticed something. It was beginning to warp and seemed to be shriveling and being engulfed by some light. She raised a brow, then furrowed them when she smelt smoke. A string of cursing came from above her and she looked to see smoke coming from the projection booth.

Susie’s eyes went wide. “Norman!” she shouted up to the projectionist. “Norman, are you okay?!”

Sammy cursed under his breath. “The projector must have caught on fire again.”

Susie whipped her head to look at Sammy. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Norman told me that every once in a blue moon, the projector overheats and catches on fire. I’ve told him to keep a fire extinguisher by his booth, but he’s stubborn and says he can handle the fires himself.”

A loud cry of pain came from the booth and Susie rushed out of the room, her heels clicking against the wooden floors. She grabbed a fire extinguisher from the entrance to the music department and rushed up the stairs, slamming the door open.

Norman was attempting to stomp out the fire, which had spread to part of the floor, and the projector had gone up in flames. Susie quickly used the extinguisher and soon enough, the flames had died down, though there would probably be no salvaging that projector. 

Susie put down the canister and she looked to Norman, who was holding his hands close to his chest. She walked to his side and asked, “Norm, are you okay? I smelt the smoke and saw the flames, and then I heard you shout.”

Norman’s gaze had been on the ruined device, but he turned to Susie, his body shaking a bit. “I’m… I’m fine, Susie. That happens every once in a long while, but… I just hoped it wouldn’t happen today. I did everythin’ I could to make sure it didn’t overheat.” He signed heavily. “I guess I didn’t do enough.”

Susie noticed that Norman had only the tips of his fingers sticking out of his sweater sleeves. “Norm, what happened to your hands? Did you burn them?”

Norman pulled his arms away as Susie reached for one of them. “I’m fine, Susie. Really.”

That was a lie if the voice actress had ever heard one. She carefully took one of the projectionist’s arms and pulled his sleeve back. He whimpered as she did, closing his eyes tightly. “Susie, I’m fine!”

The woman could see that not only had his gloves burned away, but Norman had also burned his hands. Though his hands were inky from his time as a monster, she could see a lot of ink dripping from his fingers and palm. She could tell it hurt. And when she looked to the foot he had used to try and put out the fire, she could see his pants had burned away a little. His ankle was in the same condition. 

Susie clicked her tongue. “Norman, I can tell this hurts. We need to get you to the infirmary and treat these.” 

“Susie, I’ll be okay. I’m used to this by now.”

A realization came to her mind. Her orange eyes went wide. “Wait...is that why you had scars on your hands before the Ink Machine Incident?”

Norman tensed. “...Yes, that’s why. You can’t see ‘em anymore because of the ink, but this sort of thing is where I got those scars from.”

Susie put a hand on his back. “Norm, let me take you to the infirmary. I can treat these. And I can tell it hurts.”

Norman bit his lip, seeming hesitant, but he sighed and nodded, letting Susie guide him down the steps and down the hall to the entrance. When they reached it, Betty, Grant’s daughter, turned her head to look at them. She could see the pain in Norman’s face and stood from her seat. “Norm, what happened?”

“The projector caught fire in the booth and Norman burned his hands and ankle when he tried to put it out,” Susie explained. “I’ll treat his burns, Betty. Can you find me some bandages and ink, please?”

Betty nodded as Susie walked Norman over to the sink. She made sure the water wasn’t too cold before putting his hand under it. Norman cried out and tried to pull away, but Susie held him there. She looked to his face with deep concern.

Norman had his eyes closed and teeth clenched. “Sorry, Susie. It just stings… a lot.” 

The woman frowned. “I’m sorry, Norman, but this is how we have to treat it. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

Norman nodded and let Susie run the water on his other hand, before she took some water and put it on his ankle as well. She then guided him to the closest bed and turned when Betty brought the bandages and ink. She started wrapping his hands when she heard him speak. 

“Susie… I’m sorry.”

She looked to his face, blinking softly. “For what, Norm?”

“For makin’ you worry. I usually put out those fires before they get too bad. I should’ve kept that extinguisher by my booth. And I didn’t mean to be harsh, I just didn’t want my burns to be touched.”

Susie smiled softly. “You don’t need to apologize, buddy. I don’t blame you for that. And, I think we should start keeping something to put out the fires by your booth from now on. I’ll talk to Grant about getting something for that.” She finished wrapping his hands and went to work on his ankle. “Besides, you’re my best friend. I worry about you sometimes and I’d do anything to make sure you’re okay.”

Norman pushed himself up with his arms and looked at her with surprise. “I’m your best friend?”

A nod was given as she finished wrapping his ankle. “Of course! You’ve been there for me since I first came into this studio, Norman. You’ve done a lot to help me and you’ve been a great friend to me. You’re the best friend I have in my life.” She took the inkwell and tossed it, which he caught with surprisingly good reflexes. “Drink up, it should help your hands reform a bit.”

Norman sighed. He hated having to drink this stuff when something happened to a part of him that had ink on it, but he knew it was the only way to fix it. He took a deep breath before drinking the ink. It was sludge-like and metallic tasting and he nearly gagged. However, he managed to get it down.

Susie could hear him make a disgusted noise, but he spoke after that. “Thanks, Susie. I hate drinkin’ that stuff, but… thank you for helpin’ me.” 

Susie smiled. “It’s no trouble.” She pulled out a nearby chair and sat down next to Norman. “So, we’ll probably have to wait for the booth to be cleaned up before you head back in there.”

Norman nodded. “Yeah… Do you just want to stay here and chat for a bit?”

Susie smiled. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

The projectionist and voice actress talked for what seemed like hours, catching up on their lives outside the studio until Norman was tired. As Susie waited for him to fall asleep, she sang a few songs to him until he was out. 

Susie stood and whispered to Betty, “Keep an eye on him for me. If he wakes up, tell him I’ll be in the administration offices.”

Betty nodded and Susie exited the room.

In all honesty, she really did care about Norman. He had taken her under his wing from the moment they met and she felt like she needed to repay him somehow. He was her best friend and she cared for him. And that was something she was sure of.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, I just love my Susie and Norman so much. This AU gives me life.  
> Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave comments and kudos!  
> Also, if you want to see more of this AU and my comic that this AU is based off of, I'm QueenCelin33 on deviantart! I have most of my BATIM stuff there since I no longer have a Tumblr.


End file.
